How to Build A Chicken Run

How to Build A Chicken Run

Credit to: theprairiehomestead.com

“If you’ve kept chickens for any amount of time then I’m sure you know the heartbreak of raising chicks to adulthood, only to have them nabbed by a predator just when they’ve started laying eggs. Losing even a few chickens from a small backyard flock is enough to make any homesteader sad, mad and determined to outsmart those wily predators!

In more than four years of raising backyard chickens, we’ve discovered snakes, a possum and a raccoon in our chicken coop. We’ve also had trouble with foxes and hawks. Our three-acre homestead is situated at the top of a hill with few trees, and hawks are definitely our worst predator. At least they were. After the hawks made off with yet another of our free range hens, we were forced to keep the girls penned up in their coop for a time while we considered the options.

In the end, we chose to construct a simple chicken run. We even made our own gate! I’m happy to report that in over one full year with our chicken run, we’ve had zero trouble with hawks. Hooray!”